1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a decoy apparatus for such as, but not restricted to bird hunters. Specifically, the present invention relates to the inclusion of wind activated motion to assist in a more lifelike presentation of the decoy.
2. Brief Description of Prior Art
Decoys are often used to influence bird behavior. Hunters use decoys to attract birds. Farmers use decoys to scare birds away from crops. Full-body decoys for attracting game birds is known in the art. Most game hunters will agree that the more realistic the appearance and behavior of an animal decoy the greater the probability that the game will be attracted to the decoy. As a result, decoy development has continued to grow.
There are a number of patents pertaining to movements in decoys. U.S. Pat. No. 4,611,421 shows a decoy that includes resilient strips that support the neck and back. The strips flex during changes in wind pressure to give movement to the decoy neck and body. As the neck and body of ′421 move together, the decoy movements are relatively stiff and unrealistic. U.S. Pat. No. 4,852,288 utilizes rubber bands between the neck and body. Movements of the head and neck are controllable to suit different wind speeds by changing the rubber bands.
As such, while the prior art full-body and/or shell decoys have improved in representing the animal to be decoyed in a stationary position, the prior art has generally failed in developing a decoy that appears to be active. In fact, in some cases, attempts to create decoy movement have resulted in decoys that can actually scare game away.
As will be seen from the subsequent description, the preferred embodiments of the present invention overcome these and other shortcomings of the prior art.